Key result
A single session of auricular vagus nerve stimulation significantly increased contralateral wrist extensor muscle activation and modulated brain frequency band powers in healthy individuals.
Why the study?
Does auricular vagus nerve stimulation alter electroencephalography and electromyography measurements in healthy persons?
RCT (n=90)
Randomly assigned
Does auricular vagus nerve stimulation alter electroencephalography and electromyography measurements in healthy persons?
Auricular vagus nerve stimulation in healthy individuals alters central nervous system activity and affects corticospinal tracts, as evidenced by EEG and EMG changes.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Ear-specific auricular VNS alters EEG bands and contralateral EMG in healthy volunteers; leaves open translation to patients pending controlled trials.
Objectives: Auricular vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a non-invasive treatment modality. Opinions that it can be used in the treatment of various clinical problems have gained importance in recent years. In this study, it was aimed to lay the groundwork for the use of the auricular VNS in different ears. Methods: Healthy individuals (n = 90) were divided into three groups: unilateral left (n = 30), unilateral right (n = 30), and bilateral (n = 30) auricular VNS. Electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) measurements were performed before and after auricular VNS (10 Hz, 300 µs, 20 min) for a single session. Results: An increase in wrist extensor muscles activation was detected on the contralateral side of the auricular VNS application side. It has been observed that there is a general decrease in the power of high-frequency waves and an increase in the power of lower-medium frequency waves in various parts of the brain. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the projection of the auricular VNS in the central nervous system may also affect the corticospinal tracts.
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Konakoğlu et al. (2023) conducted an RCT in Healthy (n=90). Auricular vagus nerve stimulation vs. Pre-stimulation baseline was evaluated on Contralateral wrist extensor muscle activation (mV) in the left-unilateral stimulation group (p=0.038). A single session of auricular vagus nerve stimulation significantly increased contralateral wrist extensor muscle activation and modulated brain frequency band powers in healthy individuals.
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